A Better World By Design 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
One of Rhode Island's most innovative conferences kicks off this week, and it's run entirely by students.
"A Better World by Design" (BWxD) brings big thinkers in social and environmental design to Providence beginning Friday for three-day conference that has drawn international acclaim and brought more than 1,000 attendees to the city.
The conference is organized and run by students from Brown and RISD.
Connection and innovation
Now in its fourth year, BWxD aims to "foster new discussions, connections and innovations," according to organizers, "between leaders in architecture, design, engineering, economics, education, entrepreneurship, environmental studies, business, politics and global development." The uniting theme: design.
“I went in feeling old; I left feeling young,” Brian Jepson, O’Reilly editor, programmer, and co-author of Mac OS X for Unix Geeks and Learning Unix for Mac OS X Panther commented. “Instead of the occasional surprise at learning something from a young whippersnapper in a hallway conversation, I was ready to be schooled by the next generation of designers, makers, artists, and thinkers, and got both what I wanted and what I richly deserved.”
What's in store
Topics and speakers for this year include: planning and designing living/learning spaces (Steven Bingler, President of architectural design firm Concordia), revitalizing declining industrial cities (Mayor John Fetterman of Braddock, PA), supporting communities in need with pro-bono architecture and design services (Kate Stohr, Managing Director for Architecture for Humanity) and diversifying educational/teaching strategies (Trung Le, co-author of The Third Teacher).
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWho won the Better World Challenge?
Additionally, the winners of the second annual Better World Challenge (BWC), the conference’s student-design challenge, will be announced and showcased at the conference. Engaging students to create tangible, real-world solutions, this year’s Better World Challenge focused on reimagining coastal communities. The winners receive $1,000 and an opportunity to see their design through with BWxD partner Save the Bay.
Moving around the city
With appropriate youthful energy, the conference moves about, from workshops to tour sessions that give attendees an up-close, hands-on platform into local, social and sustainable design projects aimed at improving the Greater Providence community. Further, an Expo showcases start-ups, companies and student projects.
"These sessions utilize the city’s forward-thinking attitude and rich history for innovation as a case study to model worldwide," say organizers. "They’re usually pretty fun too."
Par-tay
On the topic of fun, included in the ticket price are the weekend’s nightly social events, which will feature a dueling piano show, a bike-powered DJ and local food trucks (including the popular Mama Kim serving Korean BBQ). All meals are included, and it’s no ordinary conference fare—this year, BWxD has partnered with Real Time Farms so you can check an interactive menu online and know exactly where your food comes from. Local, sustainable cuisine is our focus.
Events are open to the public. For more details and registration updates, visit http://www.abetterworldbydesign.com/.
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